Upon a West Coast Reflection

After a six-game West Coast swing where they finished 3-3, the Yankees will be headed to Baltimore with a 12–6 record. Some thoughts:

Javier Vazquez is on the verge of big trouble. His performances have done nothing to allay the concerns of fans who still vividly remember his 2004 exit from the Bronx. His ERA is high, and he hasn’t won games. I am still on the side that thinks he needs time to readjust to the AL, but he risks losing the fans for good if he can’t start providing quality starts.

At 12-6, the Yankees are still off to a solid start, but they cannot let up. With Tampa Bay charging out to a 14-5 record, the Yankees will have to keep their foot on the gas to keep the AL East lead within sight.

Andy Pettitte has been excellent in the early going, and leads the team in ERA and Wins, and is second to CC in WHIP and Ks. As a #3, Pettitte is giving the Yankees all they could ask for.

Phil Hughes is back to the exciting Phil Hughes who had everyone so worked up a few years ago. His no-hit bid against Oakland brought back memories of his no-hit bid against Texas, with the added bonus that he didn’t leave the game due to injury.

Strong starts by Posada, Jeter, Gardner, and Cervelli are being tempered by the woeful batting of Teixiera and Nick Johnson.

Robinson Cano has come storming out of the gate. If he keeps this up, this could be the year he takes the superstar leap.

11 Responses to “Upon a West Coast Reflection”

Vazquez’s problems have nothing to do with adjusting to the AL. His problems stem from decreased velocity. He’s down 3-4 miles per hour. There is either a mechanical problem affecting his velocity, or all the innings he has logged over the years just caught up to him suddenly. But he’s simply throwing BP fastballs out there right now, much like my man John Maine.

I’m loving the Rays right now. Young, exciting small-market team. Hope they keep it up. The Sox look like a third-place team. The defense has improved, but their lineup scares no one, and Beckett looks terrible.

P.S.: Great managing from Genius Joe on Sunday. I’m not sure if I have ever seen a manager make himself look so foolish for no reason.

I think the velocity and the adjustment to the AL are tied together. Steve Phillips was on with Francesca yesterday, and he believes that he is trying to overthrow and its hurting his mechanics.

Why can the Rays compete with a small market where other teams can’t? Their revenue stream can’t be much bigger than Pittsburgh or KC. Is it just good front office moves and getting lucky with healthy prospects living up to their potential?

Steve Phillips is fucking retarded. One of my most hated human beings alive. Why does he still get a public forum? Shouldn’t he be out fucking some fat pig secretary from work?

The difference between Jerry and Genius Joe — Jerry is stoned for those press conferences. Joe was not when he when he decided to walk Morales, then changed his mind, then changed it again, and then again, then allowed Marte to groove a fastball. Game over.

Small-market teams can compete, but everything has to go their way and they can’t make any mistakes. It’s really unfair.

Did you read the Posnanski link to the Forbes article showing that the Yankees spend the same percentage of their revenue (adjusted for revenue sharing, meaning the Yanks’ revenue sharing money not included in their overall revenue) on salary as the Royals? And that doesn’t include the revenue they make from Yes. If you include the Yes money, the Yankees would be one of the cheapest teams when it comes to investing percentage of revenue into payroll. Without Yes money, they are average. So much for the “but the Yankees invest their money into the team whereas the other owners pocket it” argument.

“David Wright went 3-for-3 with four runs batted in for the Mets in the back end of the doubleheader. Included in those three hits was the 1000th hit of Wright’s career. Wright also has 143 home runs in his 868 career games…

Only three players have recorded 1,000 hits for a New York team in as few games while having as many homers as Wright: Babe Ruth (795 games, 255 home runs), Lou Gehrig (826 games, 165 home runs) and Joe DiMaggio (711 games, 173 home runs).”

This will be the next star produced by the Mets’ “crappy” farm system. He looks like A-Rod at the plate, but he lacks A-Rod’s speed and athleticism.

“At the plate for Savannah, it’s all about the Wilmer Flores (.357/.400/.560) show. The 18-year old was 3-4 with a triple off the base of the left-center field wall. Historic Grayson Stadium is very deep to the power alleys, and Flores’ triple would have been a home run in many minor league parks, but not in Savannah. The Gnats lead the SAL with 12 triples, (no other team has more than nine) and that has something to do with the team’s speed, but also Grayson’s expansive dimensions. For example, 1B Jeff Flagg has a pair of triples, Flores has one and Juan Lagares has three; at least four of those six balls, if not all of them, would have been out of most of the parks in MiLB.
Flores is fourth in the SAL in batting average (.357), sixth in slugging (.560), third in hits (30), fifth in doubles (9), and third in total bases while maintaining his spot as the fourth-toughest hitter in the league to strikeout. Hitting Coach Ryan Ellis has raved recently about the improvements Flores has made.”

Further proving that Yankee fans are a bunch of bandwagon jumping yuppies:

The Wall Street Journal surveyed 650 fans across all five boroughs and determined:

“There are as many Mets fans as there are Yankees fans in Manhattan, but, overall, the Yankees have twice as many fans. Mets fans own more guns, are more likely to bet on games and follow their team more closely… On the other hand, Yankees fans tend to be more metrosexual, they drink more Starbucks coffee, they’re more likely to own a Mac than a PC, and tend to be single and skinnier. Mets fans drink far more beer… They also drink more in general… Mets fans monitor their team’s progress, and they listen to substantially more sports radio.”